MUNICH.- The Artistic Director of the Haus der Kunst since 2011, Okwui Enwezor, is to step down from his post at the Haus der Kunst for health reasons.

Cultural Minister Prof. Dr. Kiechle as Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board and the Shareholders' Meeting said: "Thanks to Okwui Enwezor´s outstanding exhibition programme, Haus der Kunst´s international reputation has been considerably strengthened. As a result of his curatorial expertise, the institution has received worldwide recognition."

Okwui Enwezor said: There is never an ideal time to leave but I am stepping down when the Haus der Kunst is in an artistic position of strength. It has been a great privilege to lead this exceptional institution and work with such a dedicated and talented team.

Okwui Enwezor has been Director of Haus der Kunst since 2011, joining the organisation with a strong mandate to sharpen and advance the artistic, cultural, and intellectual profile of Haus der Kunst, a task he achieved by making it internationally admired while also spearheading successful fund-raising of more than 35 million Euros and recruiting a number of long-term partners to the museum.
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Over the past twenty-five years Okwui Enwezor has become internationally recognised as one of the most influential figures in the field of contemporary art and culture. He is celebrated for his extraordinary engagement with contemporary artists and his ground-breaking curatorial work as the artistic director of some of the most acclaimed global exhibitions in recent memory, including the Biennales of Venice, Gwangju, Seville, Johannesburg, La Triennale Paris, and Meeting Points Beirut, as well as exhibitions and accompanying publications highlighting world events in modern history such as The Short Century: Independence and Liberation Movements in Africa 1945-94; Rise and Fall of Apartheid; and Postwar: Art Between the Pacific and the Atlantic 1945-65.

A champion of artists of African descent, and of the global South, he has established himself as a curator, critic, publisher, historian, writer, educator, activist and public speaker whose exhibitions and writings are situated at the juncture of art, culture, politics and society. He is the only individual, besides Harald Szeeman, to have directed both Documenta and the Venice Biennale, and he has received some of the highest international honours, including the German Federal Government Order of Merit, the Hessen Prize, the Folkwang Prize, the Bard College Curatorial Award, the Agnes Gund Curatorial Award and the Frank Jewett Mather Award for Distinction in Criticism.